Title screen

[References: 80 tit.]

A novel route to prepare monodispersed 1–2 nm gold nanoparticles (NPs), based on the use of extremely small SiO[2] NPs (2–4 nm) as a support and increasing their metal-support interaction with surface modifier oxides is presented. The influence of modifier (La, Ce and Fe oxides) and modification method (impregnation (i) or direct synthesis (s)) on the formation of ultra-small Au NPs and their structural and electronic properties was studied. The samples were characterized by N[2] adsorption (BET), FTIR of adsorbed CO, XRD and HR-TEM methods, and tested for the catalytic selective oxidation of 1-octanol. Preparation of monodispersed Au NPs with 1 nm diameter was successfully achieved for all the modified samples studied, with exception of Au/Ce/SiO[2]-i, where CeO[2] was not homogeneously distributed. The Au NPs have high degree of monodispersity and are stable when treated in H[2] up to 300 °С. Formation of these Au NPs depended on the strong interactions between the cationic gold complex precursor and the surface of modified SiO[2] NPs. Modifiers changed electronic properties of supported gold; favoring the formation and stabilization of Au{delta+} states, which are probable gold active sites of selective liquid-phase oxidation of alcohols in redox catalytic processes. 1-octanol oxidation was used as a model reaction for oxidation of fatty alcohols obtained during biomass transformation. The best performance for 1-octanol oxidation was found for gold nanoparticles supported on the ultra-small SiO[2] modified cerium oxide by impregnation method.